Sapere Aude

‘A Complete Meltdown of Humanity’: Aleppo Civilians Gunned Down as They Flee

“Fighting in the besieged eastern districts of Aleppo stopped on Tuesday, a Russian official said, just hours after the United Nations said it had received credible reports that forces loyal to the Syrian government were gunning down civilians trying to flee and killing residents in their homes.

Just before the Russian announcement, a cease-fire agreement appeared to have been reached among Syrian rebels, Russia and Turkey, potentially opening a corridor for residents to safely leave besieged neighborhoods, but the parameters of the deal remained unclear. The journey from eastern Aleppo has been perilous for civilians, some of them older people in wheelchairs who were too frail to leave before as the fighting intensified.

The United Nations estimated the recent civilian death toll for eastern Aleppo at 82. The deaths were recorded in four neighborhoods — Bustan al-Qasr, Al Fardous, Al Kallaseh and Al Saleheen — and included at least 11 women and 13 children, some of them shot in the streets as they tried to escape, according to Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Mr. Colville cited reports that the agency had received from reliable contacts inside and outside the city.”